1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to shoe cleaning devices especially such devices which are adapted for the cleaning of bowling shoes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When engaged in the sport of bowling, the bowling shoes play a major roll in providing a smooth, fluid action of the bowler in releasing the ball. It is necessary to keep the soles of the bowling shoes clean as a bowler will usually slide to the foul line when releasing a ball at the end of his delivery motion. If particles of dirt or other forms of debris are imbedded in or stuck to the soles of the shoes, the shoes will have a tendency to stick to the floor thus causing a jerking action which may produce deleterious effects upon the bowler's delivery motion. In order to remove debris, the use of a motor driven shoe cleaning device is normally envisioned. Such a device, specifically designed for use with bowling shoes, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,675, issued Aug. 18, 1964, to Canaan. The Canaan device shows a wire brush which is resiliently mounted and attached to a motor which causes rotation thereof. The wire brush of Canaan is useful in cleaning the leather soles of bowling shoes, however, such a brush is not as effective when used upon rubber bowling shoe soles. U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,475, issued Oct. 30, 1962, to Dufault, shows a shoe cleaning device having two laterally disposed brushes of a large diameter for cleaning the sides of shoes and a third brush attached coaxially to the laterally disposed brushes for cleaning the bottoms of shoes. The third brush has a diameter substantially less than the other two. The entire brush mechanism is turned by an electric motor and provides a mechanical boot and shoe cleaning device which can reach all of the parts of the boot or shoe.
Related patents also include U.S. Pat. No. 1,219,148, issued Mar. 13, 1917, to Pootmans, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 1,404,759, issued Jan. 31, 1922, to Hamilton, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,403, issued Aug. 25, 1964, to Allen. Each of these patents discloses a machine whose primary function is the polishing of the upper half of a shoe. Each patent discloses a brush or like instrument for applying wax to the shoe and a polishing instrument for buffing the shoe after the application of wax. These patents are only related to the present invention in that they disclose the use of a motor to rotate brushes which are used in some way to contact a portion of a shoe.